We all tend to think that the social media apps that we are using are just accessing the data that we agree to; however, social media apps do more than just let the user use their platform.
Apps With Aggressive Location Tracking are raising concerns about the digital privacy of their users.
Leading VPN provider Surfshark recently conducted a study and an analysis of the location permissions of these apps and found that there are certain social media apps with aggressive location tracking mechanisms.
X and Instagram have made it to the top of the list of location-hungry social media apps in a review conducted by Surfshark, which included 10 social media apps on the Apple App Store.
The study revealed that most of the apps on the list may not be stalker level location hungry, but surely know a lot about where you are based on their default location permissions that are required to use these apps.
It wouldn’t be right to think that you are safe with your location details, even the recently launched Threads app knows where you are, so it doesn’t matter even if you are using any of the best VPN apps.
This is because though VPN’s are great tools for spoofing the user’s IP address, GPS collects data with respect to location in different ways, making VPN less effective.
Different types of location data collected by Social Media Apps :
There are two types of location data that your smartphone records – Precise and Coarse.
Coarse data refers to the low-resolution option that only records and shares the general location of the user in the world.
Precise data means the user’s IP address, and it relies on the GPS and Bluetooth network, which can determine your exact location with the help of nearby networks. X and other apps are using this precise data for various purposes, and this is the type of data that falls under the most sensitive category since it can be used to create profiles to predict behaviour on the basis of highly personal behaviour and routine.
Should you be concerned about location tracking by these Apps?
This can be catastrophic because this data in the hands of the wrong person or persons can be used for targeted manipulation and discrimination.
Amongst the ten apps in the list of apps analyzed by Surfshark, only X was keen on collecting location to such a precise degree.
Widely popular other apps like YouTube and LinkedIn required almost none of he location access, and Snapchat also required much less access to the location.
Pinterest and Facebook, however, do require a lot of location permissions.
So why do these apps need your location permission?
- Location permission, when granted, adds useful context to photos.
- It helps users locate interesting places and businesses nearby.
However, this does not cross out the dark reality of how this location access can be misused.
- Location permissions grant social media apps to offer better reach to the advertisers, who then do targeted marketing.
- It can be used to track users.
How to stop location tracking by X?
Each app that you use on your smartphone comes with settings that you can manually change with respect to the information that is collected by the apps you are using.
It is a good idea to monitor which apps are collecting so much of your data by just heading to the settings option and disabling the location access from the privacy and safety option.
Settings- Privacy and safety- Location Access (turn off)
Similarly, other apps have an option to do this as well.
Taking a few minutes out to manage these settings can significantly improve your digital privacy and limit the level of location tracking by these social media apps to ensure your data stays secure.
READ MORE: 12 Popular Apps That Keep Tab On You Even After You Delete Them
